The present invention relates to disc drive data storage devices. More specifically, the present invention is related to a head suspension assembly for a slider tester used to test sliders that are employed in disc drive storage devices.
In a disc drive, data is stored on a storage disc in concentric tracks. In many drives, the data is stored using a write head that changes a physical property of the disc. The data is read from the disc by positioning a read head over a desired track and sensing the physical properties of the disc along the track. For example, in a magnetic disc drive, the read head senses magnetic moment boundaries along the disc.
The process for producing a read head or a write head varies depending upon the type of read head or write head being produced. Nonetheless, all head manufacturing methods share common characteristics, such as high degree of manufacturing complexity, small feature sizes, and a susceptibility to manufacturing errors. Because of this, each production method generates some heads that do not meet specifications. In order to detect faulty heads accurately, the transducing heads must be tested over a disc surface. In particular, each transducing head must be flown over a disc surface while it performs writing and/or reading operations. Early in the disc drive manufacturing art, this type of testing was performed after the head was assembled in a complete disc drive. However, this in-drive testing proved to be unacceptable because the disc drive had to be rebuilt if the head was found to be faulty.
To overcome the ineffectiveness of in-drive testing, the art developed a xe2x80x9cspin-standxe2x80x9d which allowed a head-gimbal assembly (HGA) to be tested before it was placed in a disc drive. An HGA includes a slider having a transducing head, an armature (beam and gimbal strut) for positioning the slider, and a flexible circuit that carries electrical signals between the head and drive electronics. In general, a spin-stand includes a spinning computer disc and a mounting support that supports the HGA and moves the transducing head to a desired position over the spinning disc. Of all the constituent parts of the HGA, the transducer is the most delicately fabricated component. The spin-stand allows a series of tests to be performed on the transducing head including, for example, error-rate testing, pulse width-fifty testing, track average amplitude testing and track scan testing. Often, the failure of the HGA is due to the electrical malfunctioning of the transducer. Since the components of the HGA are permanently attached, the entire assembly had to be rejected if a transducer is found to be defective. Rejecting the entire assembly which includes the base plate, load beam, gimbal strut and flex circuit in addition to the slider with the embedded transducer is wasteful, unnecessarily increasing manufacturing costs.
There is also a trend toward new HGA designs which include active integrated circuits disposed near the transducer. For example, integrated circuits may be placed on the flex circuit on the load beam. Weak signals picked up by the transducer are immediately amplified by the integrated circuits before the next stage of signal amplification during data reading, for instance. Placing the active circuits close to the transducer substantially improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the HGA. Adopting the prior art approach of testing the HGA would further aggravate the situation and is even more wasteful because the active circuits also need to be discarded in the event of test failure.
The present invention addresses these problems, and offers other advantages over the prior art.
A head suspension assembly for a slider tester is provided, which includes a socket that is coupled to a gimbal and load beam. The assembly also includes an electrical interconnect, such as a flex circuit or other wiring, that workers skilled in the art will recognize. The socket is adapted to releasably secure a slider and to electrically couple the electrical interconnect to the slider.
These and various other features as well as advantages which characterize the present invention will be apparent upon reading of the following detailed description and review of the associated drawings.